Chapter 1: Opportunity

*Buzz* *Buzz*

The annoying buzzes of an alarm filled the room.

"Arg! This damn alarm, is it already 6am?!" A voice roared as soon as the alarms buzzed. A hand shot out from underneath the blankets, straight towards the alarm to shut it off.

A man slowly got up from the bed and looked around with tired eyes. His room was messy, the walls were bare and looked awful. There was nothing to make it look even a bit pleasing to the eye. He frowned every time he looked at his walls. It seemed like the man hated the place to the bone and just wanted out of it. "Another day of trying to find a job. I'd be more than happy with mining if things continue to be as bad they are now."

The man said as he lazily walked towards his bathroom. He washed his face and looked into the mirror. "No powers, no genius-level intelligence, and a face filled with acne. Alex, I wonder why you're still single." The man sarcastically said to himself.

His name was Alex, an F tier hero. He had an average height of 175 cm, a slender body, and an average face. If he were to be kept in a crowd, most people would lose him. Alex had a scruffy long hairstyle and a stern, more serious look.

However, looks weren't everything, Alex had little to no power,he could bluff his way to a job but would be replaced easily by people who had actual powers. Because of this, it was more than difficult for him to find a job and stick to it.

After freshening up, Alex walked outside to get some air but to his surprise, there were a few people in all black suits waiting for his door to open.

"Ah, a man who likes to wake up in time, the perfect one for the job." A woman said as she smiled at Alex.

Confused and still feeling a bit tired, Alex took some time to process what was happening, "I'm sorry, what?" He said as he looked around the hallway which was filled with people in black suits.

The woman walked closer to Alex, which got his attention. After getting a closer look, Alex could see that the woman was an absolute man killer. She had a slender figure, a cute face, and long black hair; complimented even more by her clothes which were also black. "Ah, you must be surprised. I will start by introducing myself, I am Clara, a worker for the government of heroes. I am here to gather people of lower ranks to give them an opportunity." The woman smiled as she pulled out a badge, showing her authenticity.

Alex, after seeing Clara, felt wide awake. Her looks had already caught his attention, "An opportunity?" Alex asked in reply. He was very curious about the woman's words.

The smile on Clara's face grew wider, "Yes, it cannot be explained here but if you are interested in earning a huge amount of money, a good home to live in and the possibility to be called by us if more opportunities arrive please say yes. If you're not interested, just say no."

'Hmmm. I was hoping to find a mining job today, but if I really think about it, I don't think anyone would be interested in hiring me. My physical strength is weakest. I as a miner would be the worst job.' Alex thought to himself.

"I guess my answer would be yes." Alex had no reason to refuse, 'These people are from the Government of Heroes, I don't think the people in charge of heroes would be liars.' Alex thought as he looked towards Clara.

"Ahh! Wonderful. Please follow us, we will take you to our headquarters." Clara smiled with glee as she grasped Alex's hand and pulled him towards the exit. 'Soft…' Alex couldn't help but notice how soft Clara's hands were. Everything about her was bewitching.

Before he even knew it, Alex was in a car with fully tinted windows. It seemed like this opportunity was a secret, a big one.

As Alex sat inside the way, Clara, who was next to him would occasionally look towards him and smile. 'Well, this is awkward. I just woke up a few minutes ago and now I'm inside of a car, sitting beside a beautiful and kind woman who represents the government of heroes and is providing me, A F rank an opportunity that could change my life.' Alex couldn't help but be happy. Before this, his life was awful. It was just a repeat of finding a job, earning a small amount, and then getting fired after a day.

After a few minutes of driving, the car seemed to have stopped. Clara looked towards Alex and said, "We've arrived, please follow me closely. This has to be top secret. I will explain a bit as we go on. But before we continue, You have confirmed this opportunity, and You can't take back what you have said. Also, if you leak out anything that you see from now on, there will be consequences."

Clara's words overwhelmed Alex, but he agreed to it. Ever since he was a child, Alex always had his trust and faith in the government of heroes, he always admired the top heroes and hoped to be like them someday.

"Okay, now, please follow me." Clara smiled as she walked out of the car. Alex exited the car as well and to his surprise, his surroundings were all covered in black cloth, not even letting sunlight enter.

Alex could do nothing but follow Clara.'I don't know why, but a few things do feel off. But I don't think it's anything bad. It's the government of heroes, If I lose my trust in them, then who do I trust?' Alex said to himself as he followed Clara.

"This opportunity is simple, a scout mission. You go in, look around, and come back. It's that simple. Well, I'm explaining it simply, but that is essentially the mission. After you reach the place, they will brief you in more detail, but for now, continue to follow me." Clara's voice was smooth and sweet. Alex listened carefully. 'Scouting? Sounds easy enough. As they need F ranks, I don't think that they will put me in a place that I can't survive, so this might be easy money.' Alex seemed to get more and more pumped as he followed Clara.

The two soon reached a white wall, a small screen at the side. Clara put her hands on the screen and said, "017, Clara."

"Clara, 017, acknowledged." A voice came from a speaker next to the wall, after which, an entrance formed.

'Such high-tech equipment, I can't help but admire this' Alex said as the technology entranced him. He rarely got to see such things. It was mostly on TV, but that was also a rarity.

Clara continued to walk after the entrance formed, Alex continued after her.

"Ahh, Clara, you've arrived. And, yes, the last person." A deep voice came from within the entrance. As Alex entered, he could see that the entrance leads to a room. A few people stood in front of a big box. The room was white and looked very advance, screens at the top, showing a timer, counting down. '20 minutes?' Alex said as he noticed the time on the screen.

Clara looked towards the crowd and smiled, "Sir, I'm just doing my job, it will be on you now. I'm sure that time mission will begin soon." Clara seemed to be more hostile towards the man who called her out.

Alex looked towards the source of the voice and was completely blown away, 'Emerald! It's really him! One of the most powerful heroes in the world, and he is standing in front of me!'

Clara seemed to notice Alex's expression and smiled. "Alex, you already seem to know who he is… I shall leave, I wish you luck." She said as she walked to the side, where Alex noticed that many people in dark suits stood guard.

"Ahh, Alex. Welcome, I am Emerald!" The man spoke in confidence.

Alex smiled, he didn't know what to say. The man in front of him was his hero since childhood.

"H..Hi! I'm Alex." Alex awkwardly replied. Seeing Alex's reaction, Emerald laughed and put his hands around Alex's shoulder, "Come, you are the last person. Including you, there are 10 more." Alex nodded as he listened to Emerald.

"Now that everyone is here, I guess I need to explain why you are here. You might have been briefed by your guide, but I shall explain in detail. But as we are in a hurry, this will be quick."

"Now, this is an unknown gate that just appeared, we've never had this before… After a lot of research, we've concluded that it wasn't the works of any villains, but we also don't know who's work it is. We've brought you here to explore and make reports after entering this gate, everything that you see should be reported. You will have timed watches so after that time ends, you will need to return and give us this report. Once you have done this, the government of heroes will award you all with a hefty amount of money and you will be on the headlines as brave heroes!" Emerald spoke as he put on a heroic smile.

Alex felt more and more excited when he heard Emerald, why wouldn't he? He had an opportunity to earn a lot of money to scout a gate. He knew that if there were any problems, Emerald, one of the most powerful heroes would help them. There was nothing to fear.